In Memoriam Eius
by RedQueenMiku
Summary: Lemmy Koopa ends up trapped in a world that wants him dead, but, this time, he's determined to stay through to the end and discover the secrets of his brother's madness and the mysterious girl known as Marie. (companion to In Memoriam Vos, starts from the end of Vos' chapter 4; human AU; includes violence and gore)
1. Continue?

"Congratulations."

Lemmy's eyes immediately shot open. He was floating, suspended in the air by some mysterious force. The only thing he could see around him was a brilliant white that hurt his eyes.

"Where am I?" Lemmy asked, trembling.

"You've done it," a mysterious voice replied, "You've survived the entire three days."

"H-huh?!" Lemmy exclaimed in confusion, "B-but it's only been two days!"

"It has been three," the voice asserted, "You seem to have been unconscious for the entire first day."

"What?! How is that possible?!"

"You've been used, young one," the voice explained, "Someone must have used you to achieve their own goals and left you behind to take the fall for it."

"I-is that why I'm in this mess?!" Lemmy cried, "Someone used me?!"

"I'm not the one to monitor any of that," the voice continued, "I simply monitor the three-day period. You've passed."

Lemmy stayed silent, blankly staring off into the distance. He'd woken up in this world on top of a corpse. Had someone used Lemmy's unconscious body to kill that man? The thought of it made Lemmy sick to his stomach.

"You may now make your wish, young child," the voice went on, "I can grant you one single-cycle wish."

"Single-cycle wish?" Lemmy repeated in confusion, "What does that mean?"

"Each three-day period constitutes one cycle. With each cycle, you are granted a more powerful wish."

"Wh-what about..."

Lemmy trailed off.

"What is it, child?"

"What about bringing someone back to life?"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"That is a five-cycle wish."

Lemmy froze.

"Y-you don't understand!" Lemmy cried, "I can't go twelve more days like this! This whole thing is tearing my family apart! I can't bear to watch them fight anymore!"

"Rules are rules, young one. They cannot be changed."

"We need Larry back! We just need everything to go back to normal! We don't belong here and we just need to get back home and have everything go back to normal! Please!"

Lemmy was crying now.

"I can send you and your siblings home as a one-cycle wish, but, if you really want me to raise the dead, you need five cycles."

"I can't survive that long! I can't do it! Please, don't make me do this!"

"No one's making you do anything, child, but rules are rules."

Lemmy bit his lip.

"I need to get him back. I can't just let him stay dead."

"So you'll do it again?"

"I'll never forgive myself if I don't," Lemmy said.

"Best of luck to you then, child."

With that, Lemmy grew weak, his vision fading from white to black.

* * *

The first thing Lemmy saw when his eyes shot open was that Iggy was still on top of him. His hearing was a little fuzzy, but he could barely make out Iggy screaming at Roy. With a rush of adrenaline, Lemmy shoved Iggy off of him and scrambled to his feet. He then began to run, not looking back as he continued on. He was a bit off-balance, but he was able to keep from stumbling through sheer determination alone.

Finally, once he felt like he was safe, he slowed to a stop, slumping back against a wall and breathing heavily. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he clutched his chest. His throat burned with every breath and his legs felt like jelly, but at least he was safe...relatively.

He thought back over the past two days since he woke up in this world. It felt as if he'd been in that white dimension for an entire year, but, in reality, it seemed to have taken no time at all. Really, though, the only reason he'd decided to stay was so that he could bring Larry back. Larry had been killed during a fight between Roy and Ludwig and they were each blaming each other for what had been a complete accident. Frankly, Lemmy was scared of what Roy would do, but he decided not to dwell on that thought for too long. He couldn't deny, though, that Roy was acting much different than before Larry's death. It was almost as if something inside him had snapped.

Suddenly, Lemmy spotted something moving in his peripheral vision. He yanked the knife out of his pocket and held it in front of him, staring intently at where he'd seen the movement. Whatever it was was gone, but Lemmy couldn't help but be paranoid. Everyone was after him in this world and, if he wasn't careful, he could end up dead before he could accomplish what he'd come back for. After about a minute with no further disturbance, Lemmy finally relaxed. He shoved the knife back into his pocket and leaned back against the wall with a sigh, but then noticed someone that had to have been standing behind him. He screamed, brandishing his knife once more.

"Hold on! I'm not here to hurt you!"

Lemmy relaxed a bit, though he still kept the knife pointed toward Ludwig, who stood in front of him with his hands held out in a defensive gesture.

"H-how am I supposed to believe that?" Lemmy retorted shakily, tensing up again, "You were practically leading the effort to try to kill me earlier. Why should I trust you now?"

"Like I said earlier," Ludwig replied, "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt. Larry's death kind of opened my eyes to that."

Lemmy and Ludwig stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Tell me the truth," Lemmy demanded, "Do you really not want to kill me anymore?"

Ludwig was about to answer, but stopped himself short, biting his lip nervously.

"I can't really say that's true," Ludwig finally answered, "There's a part of me that wants to tell you I won't try, but I know that it's going to be hard for me to restrain myself. I can understand if you're still scared of me and don't want to be around me."

Lemmy stared at Ludwig for a moment before relaxing again, lowering the knife.

"I trust you," Lemmy said, "Really, if you'd said you absolutely didn't want to kill me, I wouldn't have trusted you, but I'm glad you were truthful with me."

Ludwig's eyes widened in shock.

"If that's the way you're operating out here, I don't know why you aren't already dead."

"I know," Lemmy said, "but I really want to be able to trust someone. I'd probably go crazy if I had to spend the next twelve days alone."

"Twelve days?!" Ludwig repeated in shock, "The game's only three days long!"

"Not for me," Lemmy replied, "I'm going for five cycles of three. I've already been through three days, apparently, so there's twelve to go."

"What?! Why?!"

"I need to do five cycles for the kind of wish I want to ask for," Lemmy answered, "I want to use my wish to bring Larry back to life."

Ludwig gaped at Lemmy's response, stunned into silence. Tears then began welling up in the oldest Koopaling's eyes and he grit his teeth in an effort to keep them from spilling over.

"I can't believe it," Ludwig muttered, "Even after all we did to you, you still...you..."

He never finished. Instead, he broke down sobbing, dropping to his knees. Lemmy rushed to comfort him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug, which only seemed to make Ludwig sob even harder. After a moment, Ludwig hugged Lemmy back, squeezing him tightly. He really seemed to regret what he did, which lifted Lemmy's spirits a little. Surely, if Ludwig could be redeemed, the rest of his siblings could too.

Just then, Ludwig forcibly broke away, snatching the knife from Lemmy's pocket before shoving him away. Lemmy was about to try to run, but he noticed Ludwig whirl around and fling the knife at a figure with a large sword that was standing no more than a few feet away from him. The knife pierced through the stranger's stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground screaming in agony. Before Lemmy could react, Ludwig pounced onto the stranger, tearing through his throat with his claws. Lemmy shut his eyes tightly, feeling nauseous as he listened to the stranger's screams deform into gargled choking that grew weaker and weaker before they were finally silent.

"You're welcome," Ludwig said. Lemmy didn't dare open his eyes. He didn't feel like his poor stomach could take it.

"Did you have to kill him?" Lemmy asked weakly, his voice wavering.

"He was going to try to kill you if we didn't do something about him," Ludwig replied, "It was for the best."

"What if he had a family that really cared about him?" Lemmy said, "What if he was only reacting to the impulses of the game, like the others?"

Ludwig didn't say anything.

"Would you do that to them?"

"Of course not!" Ludwig answered quickly.

"Even if they were trying to kill me like that guy was?"

Ludwig was silent again, but his silence said everything that Lemmy needed to know.

"They're our siblings, Ludwig," Lemmy continued, "Please promise me we won't hurt them."

There was another moment of silence.

"I can't promise you anything," Ludwig said, "If we need to defend ourselves, we might need to resort to hurting them."

Lemmy opened his eyes, turning toward Ludwig. He tried his hardest not to look down at the corpse underneath, though.

"You know," Lemmy said solemnly, "Roy said kind of the same thing. Now look at him."

"He aimed a gun at Larry's head!" Ludwig shouted angrily, "He killed Larry! He's a freaking liar!"

"He wasn't aiming for Larry!" Lemmy snapped, "I saw him! He was aiming left! You were the one that changed the trajectory!"

Ludwig's expression changed to one of pure terror. He kept his eyes fixed on Lemmy, but he seemed to be in a fearful daze.

"It was just supposed to be a warning shot, I know it," Lemmy continued, "It was just supposed to startle Larry into letting me go. It wasn't supposed to kill him."

"I killed him," Ludwig mumbled in horror, "I was the one that killed him."

"No, no!" Lemmy said quickly, realizing the implications of what he'd just said, "It was all an accident! You didn't know what Roy was planning! You were trying to save Larry! Neither of you meant to kill him!"

Ludwig grit his teeth, trying to keep from crying again.

"I don't blame either of you for what happened," Lemmy went on, "It was just an accident. You shouldn't blame yourself for it. Larry wouldn't want you to do that."

Ludwig shuddered, bringing his hand up and stabbing his claws into the corpse's mangled throat. Lemmy tensed up, barely holding back a retch. Ludwig then mouthed something, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. It took a second for Lemmy to interpret what Ludwig had said, but he soon figured out it was a silent "He was right". Lemmy winced.

"It was no one's fault," Lemmy stated, trying to emphasize his point.

"No," Ludwig snapped, "Even if I didn't intend for it, I was still the one that changed the trajectory. I'm responsible for what happened. It's because of me that Larry's dead."

"Don't do this to yourself, Ludwig," Lemmy pleaded, "You were just-"

"Stop it!" Ludwig screamed, silencing Lemmy immediately. Lemmy tensed up again. He then noticed he'd involuntarily reached for his pocket where his knife would have been if Ludwig hadn't taken it. Ludwig had definitely noticed too, as his fingers tensed and he lowered his head.

"I'm not worthy of being trusted," Ludwig muttered, "You have every reason to be afraid of me."

"No!" Lemmy shouted, "You're my brother! I know I can trust you!"

"You reached for your knife!" Ludwig retorted furiously, "No matter what you say, you know that you can't really trust me! You're lying to yourself! You're just as afraid of me as you were when I was trying to kill you! Quit lying to me, Lemmy!"

Lemmy choked, beginning to cry. The tears stung at the cuts and scrapes still present on his cheeks. He wanted to tell Ludwig what he was saying wasn't true, but a part of him knew it was and wouldn't let him lie. He really did want to trust Ludwig, but there was still that worry in the back of his mind that he might still be dangerous. The opposing thoughts ate at his mind and made it so he couldn't properly answer either way.

"I'm going to tell all of them," Ludwig said, "I'm going to tell Morton, Wendy, and Iggy what happened. Don't wait for me. Get out of Armorie as soon as possible."

"B-but-!"

"No buts! Just go!"

"I'm not just going to-!"

Lemmy cut himself short when Ludwig lunged forward, pushing himself to his feet. He stood over Lemmy menacingly, his tensed hands and fingers trembling as if he were trying to hold himself back from attacking Lemmy.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave Armorie now."

Lemmy squeaked in fear, scrambling backward and grabbing at the nearby wall to pull himself to his feet. Ludwig still moved toward him, though, so he stumbled back before turning tail and running away. He could feel his legs throbbing in pain, not used to running for so long in one day, but he felt like he couldn't stop. He swiped a hand across his face to try to get rid of the tears that blurred his eyesight. He knew Ludwig was stubborn, but he never thought him the type to ever refuse forgiveness.

* * *

Lemmy trembled like a leaf as he sat against the wall of another building in an alleyway on the other side of town. He stopped to catch a breath, as his heart was threatening to burst from his chest with how quickly it was beating, but he was immediately overtaken with paranoia. If Ludwig found him here, what would happen? If the rest of his siblings found him, what would he do?

There was such a dense web of possibilities and possible outcomes, most theoretical scenarios ending in the little Koopaling's demise, that it made Lemmy even more sick to his stomach than the corpse of the man Ludwig killed earlier until he finally couldn't take it anymore. There hadn't been much in Lemmy's stomach to begin with, but he was at even more of a deficit now, with the only food he'd eaten since yesterday splattered across the pavement. He shakily moved away from the disgusting puddle, wiping his mouth with his arm.

He clutched his chest once more, trying to regulate his breathing. All he had to do was clear his mind and focus on here and now, but that was a task that was much easier said than done. Eventually, though, he reached a point where he could stand without his body threatening to freeze up on him, which was the point when he began to walk again.

Halfway out of the alleyway on the opposite end from where he'd entered, he started to hear voices. He froze for a moment, then, despite everything in his brain telling him not to, he began to move toward the source of the noise. He slowly discovered that the voices were familiar to him. One of them was Ludwig's and the other was Roy's. A strange sort of hope sparked in Lemmy's heart. Could they be making up?

"It's not to much of me to ask what you've been up to, is it?" he heard Roy say, these being the first words Lemmy could make out.

"A little, yes," Ludwig replied, though he didn't seem confident in his reply. Lemmy barely considered Ludwig's warning and the consequences for ignoring it. Right now, all he was focused on was seeing where this conversation was going.

"Do you know where he is?" Roy asked. Lemmy knew that Roy had to be talking about him.

"I don't," Ludwig answered. He seemed to be trying to avoid saying too much.

"That's too bad," Roy said. Lemmy shuddered. He wasn't sure he liked the connotation of that statement, especially after what Roy had done to him last time they were together.

"Do you know where the others are?" Ludwig asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Roy responded. It was an abrupt response that made it seem like Roy was worried about something.

"I..."

Ludwig trailed off. Lemmy tensed up. He hoped Ludwig's pride wouldn't get in the way of him trying to make up with his brother.

"I want to tell them what I did," Ludwig finally said, "You were right. You were right and I was wrong. It's my fault Larry's dead and I'm going to own up to it. I'm going to tell them exactly what happened and let them hate me for it."

"You're not telling them anything."

"What?!" Ludwig exclaimed, "What's wrong now?! I admitted I was wrong! What more do you want?!"

Lemmy bit his lip. This wasn't how he'd imagined this going at all.

"If you tell them I pulled a gun on Larry, they're going to blame me for what happened," Roy explained, "I can't let that happen."

"I'm the one that changed the trajectory, though!" Ludwig retorted, "You were never aiming for Larry and I was the one that made the bullet hit him! I'm the one to blame!"

Roy lunged forward, grabbing Ludwig's wrist. Ludwig struggled against Roy's grip, trying to get away, but Roy was too strong for him.

"What do you want out of me?!" Ludwig screamed, "I did exactly what you wanted! I admitted I was wrong! I admitted I killed him! What am I doing wrong?!"

"You're not going to tell them what we did, Ludwig."

"Fine! I won't tell them! Happy now?!"

"That's not good enough."

Before Ludwig could respond, Roy grabbed Ludwig's upper arm on the same arm he already had a grip on and forced the forearm backward on its joint. Lemmy winced, trying to keep from screaming as he heard the sickening crack of Ludwig's arm snapping in two. Ludwig screeched in pain and, when Lemmy opened his eyes, Ludwig was on the ground. He quickly closed his eyes again, seeing Roy bring his foot up over Ludwig's kneecap. There was another crack and another scream. Lemmy bit his lip to keep from giving away his position, biting down so hard his lip began to bleed.

"You know, it's almost cathartic getting to do this to you," Roy crooned as Ludwig grunted and shuddered in pain, "I'm getting to finally take my anger over all those years of insults and abuse on you. How does it feel for you?"

"Why?!" Ludwig screeched, "What did I do?!"

"You're a rat, Ludwig!" Roy replied, "Even if I make you promise, you're still going to tell them! I can't risk that!"

"I won't! I promise I won't! Please, have mercy!"

"I'm not taking any risks. The only way to make sure you don't tell anyone is to kill you."

Ludwig's eyes widened in terror. With his one good arm and leg, he tried to get away from Roy, but Roy was faster, slamming his foot against Ludwig's chest.

"Stop!" Lemmy shrieked, finally darting out from his hiding place and throwing himself onto Roy. It was a valiant effort to try to tackle him over, but the little Koopaling just wasn't strong enough. Roy then grabbed Lemmy around the throat, lifting him into the air while he continued to deal with Ludwig. The hold wasn't enough to choke Lemmy, but it was still strong enough to keep him from breaking free, despite his desperate struggling.

"Please, Roy!" Lemmy pleaded, "Don't do this! Don't kill him, please!"

"Please!" Ludwig chimed in, "At least think through what you're doing!"

"I already have."

Roy lifted his foot from Ludwig's chest, this time stomping down onto Ludwig's throat. Lemmy shut his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth. He shuddered with each of Ludwig's rasped, garbled cries until, finally, he felt the world disappear around him as he slid into unconsciousness.


	2. Madness

Lemmy's eyes flitted open. It took a second for his mind to register everything that had happened and was happening now. At first, it felt as if he'd just awoken from a sick nightmare and could simply write it off as such, but, as he became more aware of his surroundings and the situation he was currently wrapped up in, the true horror of what had just occurred stabbed back into him. He struggled to try to stand, but his wrists were tied behind his back and his legs were tied together with tightly-knotted rope.

"Don't bother," Roy's voice snapped from the shadows, "You're not going anywhere."

Lemmy quickly realized that he and Roy were together in a boxcar. It was dark and the only way he could see at all was because of a single lantern sat in the middle of the floor. The corners of the car where Roy happened to be were still engulfed in shadow, though. He wasn't quite sure where the train they were on was headed, but something told him that, no matter where the destination happened to be, there was nothing good in store for him there.

"Wh-what do you want with me?!" Lemmy cried shakily.

"Relax," Roy replied, "I'm not going to hurt you...yet."

A chill ran down Lemmy's spine. He began hyperventilating. He tried staring outside the open door of the boxcar in some sort of effort to calm down. It was nighttime, so visibility was poor, but, since his eyes were quickly adjusting, he could barely make out trees and other forms of plant life whizzing by through the darkness. His mind couldn't help but wander back to Roy, though.

"R-Roy?"

"What?"

"D-did you...kill him?"

"Of course."

Lemmy choked on a gasp. Out of reflex, he tried to bite his lip, but he winced upon finding it terribly sore from the last time he did such. His mind was racing with thoughts of how he could possibly make it through another fifteen days on top of the sentence he was already serving to bring back Larry, but he quickly realized that he had no idea what Roy's intentions for him were and, at this point, he had no idea if he'd even live to see the next sunrise, much less live through the rest of the game.

"Wh-where are we going?" Lemmy asked, having finally worked up the courage to do so.

"Somewhere no one can find us," Roy replied, "We're going to stay hidden for the next however long it takes for you to get through this stupid game. After that, you're going to wish us all back home."

"Th-then what?"

"Well, I can't have anyone finding out what really happened to Larry, so I'll have to make sure I'm the only witness left so they have no choice but to believe me. That means I'll have to stage a fitting suicide for you. You just couldn't take what happened to Larry, so you decided to end your own life to make up for it. That sounds about right, hm?"

Lemmy froze, every muscle in his body tensing up in shock and fear. From the way Roy was speaking, it sounded as if he was enjoying setting up all of this, even if only somewhat. It was jarring to see him acting this way, but Lemmy knew he was wholeheartedly serious, which only made it even more terrifying.

"I-it doesn't have to be this way!" Lemmy retorted, "W-we could just explain things to everyone and everything would be fine! No one else has to die! Please!"

"It's too late for that now," Roy muttered, "I've already gone past the point of no return."

"You don't understand!" Lemmy shouted, "I'm trying to get Larry back! I just have to survive twelve more days and I can bring him back! Th-then, I can bring Ludwig back! I-it's just twenty-seven days! Everything can go back to normal!"

"There is no 'going back to normal'," Roy snapped, "What's done is done. There's nothing that's going to erase what's been done. All we can do is move on."

"No!" Lemmy cried, "That's not true! I have to bring them back! I just have to! I-!"

That was when Roy finally emerged from the shadows and Lemmy stopped short at the sight of how his brother looked now. His expression was cold and emotionless, but the most noticable part of his appearance came from his eyes, as he was now no longer wearing his sunglasses. His heavy crimson eyes now bore a thick ring of blood-red around the irises.

"H-how is that possible?!" Lemmy exclaimed, "I-I thought only Iggy and I had those!"

"I've had them the entire time," Roy explained, "It seems to be situational when they show up, but I find they often show up when I feel like wringing some poor sucker's neck or something like that. That's part of the reason why I wear my sunglasses all the time."

Lemmy grit his teeth, consciously trying to keep from biting his lip again. The conversation seemed to cut itself short right there, but Roy didn't seem to have anything more to say and Lemmy didn't feel the need to press the topic any further. Instead, Lemmy closed his eyes and began to think.

As much as he tried to sell twenty-seven days as a short period of time, the reality of it was that, with his sentence totalling up to thirty days, he was taking on the feat of trying to survive this game for an entire month. That month would seem like forever without someone to trust and relate to, the mere thought of such eating away at the little Koopaling and justifiably causing him to believe he'd go completely insane from the isolation alone. That was setting aside the pressure from knowing everyone in the world was out for his blood, which he knew would only cause him to crack even faster. What state would he be in once he finally made it through? Would he be able to recover, or was Roy right in saying there was no going back to normal?

Lemmy's breathing quickened to the point of near-hyperventilation. He could feel his worries weighing down on him, feeling so heavy he felt they'd suffocate him. Everything he'd just thought could only happen under the hypothetical possibility that he could escape from Roy, which was extremely unlikely. Roy was much bigger and stronger than Lemmy and he was the only one of the Koopalings that kept his own fitness regimen, including combat training. If he was dead-set on keeping Lemmy hostage, he'd fight to his last breath to make sure things stayed that way and, if Ludwig's murder was anything to go by, Roy was serious about killing Lemmy once they got home. If it came down to it, would Lemmy let it happen or would he keep extending his sentence to keep Roy here for as long as possible? How long would Roy take it before he killed Lemmy off and tried to survive the game himself?

Lemmy began to feel lightheaded and he laid back down on the floor to try to mitigate his wooziness. He then tried to steady his breathing back out, clearing his mind as much as he could and staring thoughtlessly at the ceiling. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, as the terrible thoughts would come flooding back the moment he stopped focusing on keeping them away, but he could at least do this, which told him that, at least for now, he still had some connection to reality. He had to wonder how he'd fare, though, once the paranoia completely took him over.

* * *

Lemmy woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and a stiff kind of soreness from sleeping on top of his arms. It was only through mentally singing songs to himself that he was finally able to fall asleep and, surprisingly enough, he made it through the night without any nightmares. He felt much calmer now, but he knew that things were still far from okay.

He was still in the boxcar with Roy. He couldn't tell if Roy was asleep or not, though, as he was wearing his sunglasses now. Roy's chest heaved slowly, suggesting he might be asleep, but his face was still turned toward Lemmy. If he was awake, he was doing a good job of hiding it. Lemmy wasn't about to take a gamble on Roy being asleep. Even if he did, though, there was also the matter of the train still moving and the fact that he was still tied up. If he tried to escape now, there was a good chance he could end up dead, which was all the more justification for his decision not to try.

Lemmy sighed, turning over onto his side. He was still trying to keep his mind clear to keep from the kind of paranoid fit he had the night before, but he found it much easier now. He pushed himself back up and leaned against the wall, deciding to entertain himself with thinking about a television show he'd watched once and trying to remember the individual plot of each episode. He and Iggy had watched a lot of anime together, so he knew this was an endeavor that would keep him busy for a good chunk of however long he stayed in captivity. At the very least, it would help him keep his mind off the hopelessness of his situation, which was enough for him.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked tersely, startling the little Koopaling out of his daze.

"Nothing!" Lemmy replied nervously, "A-absolutely nothing! I didn't do anything, I swear! I-"

"Shut up," Roy snapped, "I'm going to get some food. I trust you won't try to escape...unless you want to commit suicide for me."

Lemmy shuddered, shaking his head fearfully. Roy shrugged nonchalantly before getting up and climbing onto the outside of the boxcar to make his way to one of the passenger cars. Lemmy knew, though, that Roy didn't really want Lemmy to die now. He needed Lemmy alive to get home. That was the only thing keeping Lemmy alive at this point and he knew it.

Just then, the boxcar jerked forward, throwing Lemmy back down to the floor. The train must have hit a rather large bump. In a flash of realization, Lemmy struggled to make his way toward the door to the boxcar, staring outside in anticipation. Sure enough, the bump had thrown Roy off the train and he tumbled away into the distance as the train continued on. A smile spread across Lemmy's face as he trembled in ecstasy. It felt wrong to be happy over Roy's possible demise, but, for the first time in days, Lemmy felt safe. He didn't have to worry about what Roy may or may not do to him now. He was free.

He then remembered that he wasn't out of the woods yet. He was still tied up, which meant that he was still stuck on this boxcar. He wasn't sure he could make it on his own in this condition. Until he could figure out how to get out of his bonds, he was a sitting duck and it was only a matter of time before someone found him in this vulnerable state. Still, it was better than a certain death and the thought of such was enough to comfort Lemmy for now.

Lemmy leaned back against the wall next to the door, deciding to focus his efforts on working his bonds loose. He struggled against the ropes that held his arms behind his back, but they were tied too tightly for him to find any room to work himself free. Once Lemmy's wrists began burning in pain, he stopped, taking some time to think. He didn't know how long it would be before the train reached its next stop and he had no idea what he'd do after that. Would there be guards inspecting the train cars before the train's next departure? If that turned out to be true, Lemmy was as good as dead. If not, he could stay hidden in the boxcar for as long as he needed to. If someone else decided to get on, though, he was also as good as dead. All he could do was hope to get lucky.

He sighed, deciding to keep his mind off the myriad possibilities and, instead, went back to his previous diversion. Now, if only he could remember what happened in episode seven...


	3. Sibling Bound

Lemmy sat huddled in the corner of the boxcar. He'd recapped the entirety of the first season of Sailor Moon in his head before the train stopped. Now came the first bit of tension: waiting to see if the boxcar would be inspected. He'd made his way into the corner of the car to maximize his chances of not being spotted, but it was all up to luck now.

Just then, the train slowly lurched forward. Lemmy breathed a sign of relief. No inspections meant he was safe for now...or he would have been if his hopes weren't shattered by three someones jumping into the boxcar just as the train began to move. It was like some cruel joke was being played on him right then and there. They hadn't noticed him yet, but they would and, when they did, Lemmy was done for. He couldn't move properly because of the ropes, so there was no escape. Wendy, Morton, and Iggy were standing right in front of him and it was only a matter of time before they turned around.

"Do you really think Lud went back to Dystopia?" Morton asked, probably continuing a conversation from earlier that Lemmy hadn't been privy to.

"He could have gone anywhere," Wendy answered, "We just have to look out for an influx of missing persons reports. Wherever we find the most, that's probably where Ludwig is."

Lemmy shuddered, trying his best to keep as quiet as possible. He'd almost forgotten that Ludwig mentioned something about taking up cannibalism. Hopefully, that was just another of the strange effects of being in this world and not something Ludwig ever actually considered before this.

"What about Lemmy?" Iggy piped up, "We have to find him! I have to find him!"

"Calm down," Wendy snapped, "We'll find him as soon as we find Ludwig and Larry."

Lemmy winced. There was no way they could know that Ludwig and Larry were both dead. Roy had probably already gotten rid of the evidence of both deaths.

"If they're in Dystopia, that's good news for us," Morton said, "That means we've got the team back together and we can continue searching for Lemmy."

"I can't just leave Lemmy out there!" Iggy screeched, "What if someone else gets to him first?!"

"Just shut up already!" Wendy shouted, "I swear, ever since we met up with you, it's been Lemmy this and Lemmy that and I'm sick of it! Can we please just talk about something else already?!"

"Let's just sit down and talk about something then," Morton suggested, plopping down on the floor where he was. Wendy stared at him for a moment in awkward silence and Lemmy hoped she couldn't notice him out of her peripheral vision. It seemed she didn't, though, as she sighed in resignation before sitting down next to Morton. Iggy sat down next. Thankfully, they were all still facing away from Lemmy and the little Koopaling hoped it would stay that way.

"So," Wendy started, "What are we talking about?"

"I don't know," Morton replied, "I just suggested the idea. You two were supposed to come up with something to talk about."

Wendy clenched her fists tightly and Lemmy could have sworn he heard a faint growl come from her.

"Fine," Wendy snapped, "Let's just talk about how we're all horrible people, then, shall we?"

"How do you think King Dad's doing?" Morton asked. Wendy perked up in surprise.

"Oh my gosh," Wendy muttered, "What would King Dad do to us if he knew what we were doing?"

Morton took a breath, looking like he was about to speak, but he froze and ended up staying silent.

"What if we actually go through with this?" Wendy continued, "How are we going to explain this when we get back home?"

"If we ever get back home," Morton added.

"How are we going to get back home?" Iggy asked.

"I don't know!" Wendy shouted, holding her head in her hands, "Don't ask me these questions! Ludwig's supposed to know this stuff! He's the leader, not me!"

"But Ludwig's not he-"

"I already know that!" Wendy screamed, cutting Iggy off. She then broke down crying. Morton pulled Wendy close, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's okay," Morton said, "We'll figure out something."

Lemmy felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He then bit his lip, forgetting how sore it still was. He winced, hissing in pain. He then recoiled, remembering that he was supposed to be silent. All three of his siblings immediately perked up, whirling around to see Lemmy sitting just behind them.

"Wh-what?!" Wendy stuttered, "How long have you been he-?!"

Wendy was cut off by Iggy shoving her aside as he frantically scrambled toward Lemmy. Just when Lemmy thought Iggy was going to do something drastic, he was surprised to find Iggy shakily fingering the ropes around Lemmy's legs.

"Who did this to you?" Iggy asked confusedly. Lemmy's muscles locked up as he shook like a leaf, unable to say a word. When he finally forced himself to try, he choked on the first word, his statement degenerating into a coughing fit.

"Are you not going to answer, or-"

"No!" Lemmy screamed, "I mean, I'm going to answer! P-please don't kill me yet!"

Iggy froze in anticipation. Lemmy grit his teeth, desperately trying to find the words he wanted to say. He knew what he said next could determine his fate, so he had to choose his words carefully. He was obviously going to tell his siblings the truth, but he also had to try to convince them not to kill him, or at least that killing him wasn't in their best interests. That would be a task that was easier said than done.

"I-it was Roy."

He noticed Wendy and Morton's eyes widen in shock.

"Seriously?!" Wendy exclaimed, "I thought he was on your side!"

"He was," Lemmy continued, "B-but there's a story behind that."

All three of them waited expectantly. Lemmy sighed, readying himself to tell the story. Even if he couldn't convince them not to kill him, every word out of his mouth was another moment he'd get to live and, as long as he could get them to let him keep speaking, he could try his hardest to come up with a plan to stay alive. With that in mind, he figured he'd tell them every excruciating detail of what happened.

"So, Roy and I were on a train going to Armorie. It was very shortly after our encounter with Iggy."

Iggy nodded silently in acknowledgement.

"Roy decided he was going to get us some food, so he went up to one of the passenger cars. When he got there, though, he found Ludwig and Larry there waiting for him."

"So Ludwig did bring Larry to Armorie with him," Wendy mumbled, "Why didn't we see Larry in Armorie, then?"

"Roy had a talk with Ludwig," Lemmy continued, "then Ludwig handed Roy a gun. He said that Roy had a choice: he could either kill me on the train or he could wait for Ludwig to kill me in Armorie. Roy came back after that, but Ludwig and Larry had followed him. Ludwig tranquilized Larry and said that, once Larry woke up, we'd be in Armorie and they'd kill me. Ludwig was there to make sure I didn't try to escape. We spent the next two hours on that train together before Larry woke up. I was desperate then, so I jumped off the train and tried to run. Larry caught me, though, and he had me pinned to the ground by the time Ludwig and Roy caught up. Roy decided he was going to use the gun to fire off a warning shot to try to scare Larry into letting me go, but Ludwig thought he was going to use it to shoot Larry. Ludwig tried to stop Roy, but he unknowingly changed the trajectory of the bullet that fired when Roy pulled the trigger out of shock. The bullet hit Larry in the back of the head."

Wendy gasped, her eyes watering up as she placed her hands in front of her mouth. Morton's eyes widened significantly and he didn't say a word. As for Iggy, he simply tensed up, shuddering once before he was still. Lemmy had tried to describe the incident in a way that didn't incriminate either Roy or Ludwig, but it was hard to tell what his siblings were thinking.

"I ran away after that, so I didn't see what happened next, but I knew that Larry was dead. The next day, though, I ran into Ludwig...Well, I saw him, at least. He didn't see me, though. I followed him. Pretty soon, Roy showed up. He and Ludwig started arguing and, even though I tried to stop them, Roy wouldn't quit. He was trying to get Ludwig to take the blame for what happened. That was when you guys showed up. Roy decided he'd had enough and tried to get me killed to get back at Ludwig...somehow. It was in the middle of that when the game ended for me."

"Hold on," Wendy interrupted, "What do you mean by that? The game's still going on."

"Well," Lemmy went on, "It kind of ended. I was asked to give a wish, but, when I asked for what I wanted, I was told I needed to survive the three day cycle five times in total in order to get it, so that's what I'm doing now."

"What did you ask for?" Wendy said, almost as if dreading the answer.

"I asked to bring Larry back to life."

Wendy grit her teeth as tears streamed down her cheeks. Morton shut his eyes tightly, turning away. Iggy, though, looked like he was starting to get restless. Lemmy was beginning to get worried that Iggy wouldn't let him finish.

"After I came back, I ran away. Pretty soon afterward, I met up with Ludwig again, this time face to face. He said he was sorry for what he did and, even though I probably couldn't trust him, he wanted to help me. He still wanted to believe it was Roy's fault Larry died, though. When I told him how I saw it happen, I thought he'd see things my way...but he didn't. He started blaming himself for the whole thing instead and he ran off. I tried to tell him it wasn't his fault, but he threatened me and told me to leave. I was about to, but I found him again. He was in the middle of another argument with Roy, but this one turned out differently. Roy grabbed Ludwig's arm and then he...broke it."

Wendy and Morton both shuddered in shock.

"He broke Ludwig's arm and then he knocked Ludwig over and broke his leg. I tried to intervene again, but Roy grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. After that, he slammed his foot down on Ludwig's neck."

Wendy screamed, reeling back in terror. Morton stared blankly at Lemmy, the color draining from his face. Even Iggy looked shocked.

"I told you you couldn't trust him," Iggy snarled, "but did you listen to me? No."

"I couldn't trust you either!" Lemmy shouted, "I didn't know who I could trust! I'm just so alone! You don't know what it's like to be in my situation! I fear for my life every second of every day! It's the worst kind of feeling! I can't trust anyone because everyone I've trusted has turned around on me and I feel like I'm going crazy!"

Iggy's face contorted into an expression of fury. He was about to try to hit Lemmy, but Morton lunged forward and grabbed Iggy's hand, dragging him away from his twin while he struggled and screamed. Lemmy's face was pale and the recession of an adrenaline spike left him shaking like a leaf.

"I-is Ludwig dead?" Wendy asked hesitantly. Lemmy nodded slowly. Wendy shrank back.

"I-I blacked out while he was dying. When I woke up, I was in this boxcar with Roy. He told me he was going to keep me captive until I completed my next cycle and wished us all home...then he'd kill me."

"Why?!" Wendy asked.

"He wants to erase all the evidence of what happened to Larry," Lemmy said, "He started taking the guilt upon himself and now he can't stop obsessing over it. He thinks that, if he's the only witness left, people will have to believe him when he tells them some fake story about how it all happened."

"Where's Roy now?" Morton asked.

"He fell off the train when we hit a nasty bump. He was on the outside of the train trying to get to the passenger cars and he must have lost his balance."

Lemmy tensed up, watching as Wendy huddled close to Morton and began crying on his shoulder. Iggy stared intently at Lemmy from behind them. Lemmy didn't have anything more to tell them, which meant he'd outlived his usefulness to them. He could only hope they got the message he was trying to convey to them.

Just then, Iggy scrambled around Wendy and Morton, lunging at Lemmy again. Lemmy screamed as Iggy pounced on top of him, his face mere inches from his twin's. He could feel Iggy's hot breath against his face as Iggy smiled at him manically.

"Roy's not going to get you," Iggy crooned, "He can't have you because you're all mine. You belong to me and I belong to you, right?"

Iggy yanked a knife out of his pocket, his hand trembling as he held the weapon over Lemmy's head. Lemmy desperately wanted to move, but his muscles had locked up on him and, with his bonds, he knew that escape was impossible. He shut his eyes tightly while Iggy's manic laughter echoed in his ears.

Just then, Lemmy heard a thud that startled him and caused his eyes to shoot open just as Iggy fell on top of him, his body limp and unmoving save for the shallow heaving of his chest. Morton stood over both of them, his fist clenched tightly. There was a stone-cold look in his dark grey eyes that terrified Lemmy as he grabbed Iggy and threw him to the side.

"He should know better than to scare you like that."

Lemmy tried to speak, but his lips wouldn't move. Instead, he was left speechless, wondering what Morton's intentions were. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Are you okay?"

Morton's question took Lemmy by surprise, leaving the little Koopaling dumbfounded. Asking Lemmy if he was okay meant that Morton actually cared about how Lemmy felt, which would also mean...

"Y-you don't want to kill me, do you?"

"We're going to make it home," Morton replied, "and we're going to do it as a family."

Lemmy's face lit up as tears formed in his eyes. With them came the first genuine smile Lemmy had in days.

"When you really take the time to think about it, it makes the most sense," Wendy piped up, "We help you survive and we get everything back. It's simple."

Morton shot Wendy a scolding glare. Lemmy stared at her too, though he was just happy to have her on his side, no matter what her intentions were.

"So, how long are you looking to survive for?" Wendy asked, ignoring Morton for the time being.

"Twenty-seven days."

"Twenty-seven days?!" Wendy repeated in disbelief.

"I have to survive long enough to bring both Larry and Ludwig back!" Lemmy explained, "I have to do this! There's no other way!"

"Iggy was talking about bringing the dead back to life earlier," Wendy mused aloud, "Maybe we could take him up on that so you don't have to stay here as long."

"He can't do it," Lemmy stated flatly, "He's only trying to use it to justify killing me. He and I both know he can't actually do it."

"Why not?" Wendy asked.

"Once the dead are gone, no amount of science is going to bring them back," Lemmy said, "Only magic can pull off something like that, and it has to be some pretty powerful magic too. Iggy thinks studying the chemical makeup of a Dry Bones is going to help him find the formula to reanimating the dead, but it won't help. Nothing will."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know. Iggy's been trying to do this for a long time now, trust me. None of it has ever worked. He's tried potion after invention after every method he can think of, but nothing works. Nothing he ever does is going to bring her back, but he's so deep in denial, he won't accept it."

"Her?"

Lemmy gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. Now Wendy was suspicious and, from the looks of it, Morton was too.

"I can't," Lemmy said quickly, "I promised him I wouldn't say anything and I've already said too much."

"Are you kidding me?!" Wendy exclaimed, "Why are you still sticking up for him?!"

"He needs me, Wendy!" Lemmy retorted, "I can't tell you why he needs me, but he does! If you knew the truth, you'd stand up for him too!"

Wendy grit her teeth, her upper lip twitching. Lemmy shrank back, his eyes widening in fear. Morton sighed, leaning down next to Lemmy and pulling his own knife out of his pocket. Lemmy tensed up involuntarily, but relaxed once Morton started using it to slice away the ropes around his legs.

"We don't have to know the truth," Morton muttered, "It's not important right now. What's important is right here and now. If Roy's still alive, he'll be looking for you. We have to make sure he can't find you under any circumstances. If he does, I don't know if any of us will be able to stop him."

Lemmy froze. Morton was right. With his powerful strength and newfound bloodlust, even the Mario Brothers themselves would end up dead within a minute. Then there came the realization that he'd just dragged the rest of his siblings into the matter. Now, if Roy found them out, they were all guaranteed to end up dead.

"Hold on," Wendy said, "What happens if we actually manage to get Larry and Ludwig back make it home? Do you really think Roy's just going to give up?"

"Oh no," Lemmy squeaked fearfully, "He won't. H-he already made it clear to me he won't."

"So, even if we make it home, Roy's still just going to kill all of us anyway?!" Wendy exclaimed, "What's even the point, then?! We're dead any way you look at it!"

"Stop that!" Morton roared. Wendy immediately went silent, her face growing pale. Morton exhaled heavily, gripping his knife tightly.

"If we make it back, there's a chance we can hold Roy off long enough to tell King Dad what's going on," Morton said, "He'll put his army on the job and we should be safe. There's no way Roy can take down the entire Koopa army."

"That depends on if King Dad believes us or not," Wendy pointed out, "I mean, what is he going to think if we tell him we were in this other world where Larry and Ludwig died but they were brought back to life through the power of wishes?"

"We'll just-"

"Oh, gosh, we'll also have to tell him about how we all tried to kill Lemmy! What will he think of us?! What will he DO to us?! We can't-"

"Wendy!"

Wendy reeled back, wincing in pain as she bit down on her tongue by accident. Morton glared at her, a deathly serious look on his face.

"Now's not the time for this," Morton said slowly, "Right now, we need to calm down and take things one step at a time. First, we need to find someplace where Roy can't find us. Once we're in King Dad's throne room, we can worry about what he'll do to us."

Wendy looked away, tears welling up in her eyes. Morton shut his eyes tightly, muttering something under his breath.

"Whatever it is, we probably deserve it."

"Don't say things like that!" Lemmy pleaded. Morton perked up, staring at Lemmy. He seemed to be in a daze for a minute before finally remembering what he was doing. He reached behind Lemmy and sliced away the last of the rope, freeing Lemmy's wrists and giving the little Koopaling full range of motion once again. Lemmy then took Morton's hand and let his brother help him to his feet. His legs were still a little sore from the previous day, but he was just happy to be able to use them again.

"You guys aren't bad," Lemmy continued, "You were just acting on whatever strange impulses this world is trying to give you. I don't think this is your fault."

"Don't kid yourself," Morton sighed in reply, "We could have done more to try to resist, like Roy did…before…"

Morton trailed off into silence.

"Ugh," Wendy scoffed, "How did Roy go from being the saint to being the most psychopathic of all of us?"

"Doesn't matter," Morton interrupted before Lemmy could reply, "All we need to focus on now is finding a safe place to hide."

"You guys know this world better than I do," Lemmy said, "All I really know is Armorie."

"There are four cities on this train route," Morton explained, "The train runs in a circle to all four of them. We're currently on our way to Dystopia, which is where we first met up when we ended up in this world. You remember?"

Lemmy nodded slowly. He hadn't known the city's name at the time, but, now that he thought about it, the name seemed to fit the run-down city.

"Dystopia is probably the worst place for us to go right now," Morton went on, "There are assassins lurking around everywhere and they regularly search the city top to bottom for their targets. There's no advantage to us being in Dystopia right now."

"After Dystopia is Armorie," Wendy piped up, "I assume you already know about Armorie, though, considering you've spent a lot of time there already."

Lemmy nodded again.

"We could grab some new weapons," Wendy said, "Lemmy, you probably need a weapon for yourself, just in ca—"

"We can't go to Armorie," Morton snapped, "If Roy thinks Lemmy's alone, then he'll assume Lemmy tried to go back to Armorie for a new weapon. That'll probably be the first place he'll check."

Wendy sighed, crossing her arms.

"Well," she said, "That just leaves Floria and Solo."

"Floria's next after Armorie," Morton explained, "There's not much to Floria, but it's in the mountains, which have a lot of good places to hide. The only problem is that food is scarce in the mountains, which means we'd have to try to get food from the town, where it would be just about impossible for you to hide. Floria's a very small town and there's not a lot there. If Roy found me, Wendy, or Iggy in Floria, he'd start to get suspicious as to why we were there. We need to get Roy to believe we're just searching for Ludwig and Larry."

"Solo's the best option, then," Wendy said, "We could take up an abandoned building for our base of operations there and keep Lemmy in the basement or something. Meanwhile, we can make like we're still searching for Ludwig and Larry so we don't draw any suspicion if Roy happens to find us."

"Solo is a walled city that's known as a business hub," Morton said, "There's a lot of people there, but, once we find a place to hide out, we should be relatively safe. It'll be dangerous at first, though."

"We'll also have to ride all the way back around to get there if we don't want to get stuck walking there from Dystopia," Wendy added, "We'd be running the risk of running into Roy before we ever get to Solo."

"We'll walk," Morton said, "It'll take us just as much time to walk from Dystopia to Solo as it would to take the train all the way back around. It would also allow us to find an abandoned building in the outskirts of the city instead of starting in the city square and running more of a risk of being caught."

"From what you guys have told me," Lemmy said, "I'd estimate Roy fell off the train somewhere between Floria and Solo.

"Without knowing when he fell, we don't know where he'd go from there," Morton mused aloud, "He could have gone back to Floria or he could be trying to make it to Solo. If he's heading toward Solo, we'll have to keep on our guard."

"Who knows?" Wendy piped up, "We're all just assuming Roy's still alive, but do we know for sure? He did fall off a moving train, after all."

"I don't know," Lemmy replied, "I'm not entirely sure."

"Better safe than sorry," Morton said, "If I know anything about Roy, he's not that easily taken down."

"We can do it," Lemmy said, "I know we can."

 _"We have to…"_


	4. Marie

Lemmy stared up at the walls of Solo in front of him. He could barely believe his eyes when he first saw them from afar. His awe only increased the closer they got to the city.

It had taken them four days to walk from Dystopia to Solo. Lemmy completed another cycle about halfway there. This time, the voice tried to convince him to cut his losses, but Lemmy refused. He was determined to save his brothers. That wasn't going to change. He had twenty-three days left to go and he wasn't about to stop here.

On either side of Lemmy were Morton and Wendy. Morton was carrying a sleeping Iggy over his shoulder. They had all decided before leaving that Iggy would need to be restrained for Lemmy's safety, so he was tied and gagged to keep him from causing any trouble. Lemmy had been against the arrangement, but he came around once Morton convinced him of the potential harm Iggy could cause if he wasn't kept in check.

Of course, Iggy hadn't been too happy with his treatment. He did a lot of struggling when he finally came to and, if it wasn't Morton carrying him, he might have been too much to handle. Thankfully, Morton was strong enough to render Iggy's efforts futile. Eventually, though, Iggy must have realized that his struggling wasn't working, because he seemed to calm down by day two. Every so often, though, Lemmy could catch glimpses of Iggy staring him down. It was a bit unnerving.

"Come on," Morton said, snapping Lemmy out of his daze, "We're almost there. We just have to enter through the train tunnel."

"Good," Wendy groaned, "I don't ever want to walk again."

"Well, you'll have to," Morton said, "Remember: even after we find a base, we still need to act like everything's normal."

Wendy let out a huff. Lemmy could sympathize with her, though. So much walking had left him tired and his legs sore. Wendy had the worst end of the deal, though, as her high-heeled shoes had to have made walking that much more difficult and painful.

"We can rest for a while though, can't we?" Lemmy chimed in, "After all, we have been walking for four days straight."

Morton sighed, shifting Iggy farther up on his shoulder.

"All right," Morton replied, "We can rest for a bit."

* * *

Finding an abandoned building in the outskirts of Solo had been no problem, as there seemed to be abandoned buildings left and right in this area. Lemmy had to guess that the outskirts of town wasn't exactly the most popular of areas.

Upon finally choosing their base, the group retreated to its basement, deciding to rest together. Morton had made it clear that Lemmy would stay in this basement while Morton and Wendy stayed upstairs to maintain their façade should Roy show up. As for Iggy, no one could agree on what should be done with him. The tentative plan was to leave him tied up in the basement. When Lemmy voiced his concern about the plan, Morton had been stern, saying that they couldn't guarantee Lemmy's safety if Iggy didn't stay tied up.

After having rested for a few hours, Morton prodded Wendy to wake up, saying they needed to run some errands. Morton led Wendy away in protest, leaving Lemmy alone with Iggy. Once again, Iggy was staring at his twin brother. That was when Lemmy decided he couldn't take it anymore. He made his way toward Iggy, slowly untying the gag and pulling it away from Iggy's mouth.

"Lemmy," Iggy began shakily, "You have to untie me."

"I can't do that," Lemmy replied, "Morton told me not to."

"Listen to me," Iggy snapped, "Don't listen to Morton. He's planning something behind your back."

"I just wanted to talk, Iggy," Lemmy said, "If I untie you, you're just going to try to kill me again."

"Morton's planning something!" Iggy repeated sternly, "I've heard him talking when he thought everyone was asleep! He talks to himself about getting a weapon from Armorie and 'finishing the job himself'! You can't trust him!"

"Don't try to make me paranoid, Iggy," Lemmy said, "I'm not falling for it."

"No!" Iggy cried, "You need to let me do this! If I kill you, I can bring you back! If you let anyone else kill you, I won't be able to! Please!"

"I'm not going to die, Iggy!" Lemmy retorted.

"You are if you keep trusting Morton!" Iggy shouted, "Just trust me! I can help you! I can-!"

Lemmy grabbed Iggy and wrapped the gag back around his mouth, reducing his desperate screams to muffled grunts. Lemmy shook as he pulled the knot tight and scrambled away from his twin. Tears streamed down Lemmy's cheeks as he huddled against the wall. He wondered whether he should take Iggy's warnings seriously or not. He'd been right about Roy, after all…

* * *

Lemmy's eyes opened and he quickly scanned his surroundings. It seemed like he was back in Armorie, but the purple sky above him immediately clued him in to the fact that this was a dream. He must have fallen asleep at some point, but it seemed strange to him that all of this felt so real.

He got up and began to walk. He didn't realize it until he got there, but he'd unintentionally been walking to the exact spot where Larry had died. What he found there, though, shocked him.

"You killed him. You're the one who killed him."

""No! You're not blaming this on me! You're the one who pulled a gun on him! You're the one who aimed it at him and pulled the trigger!"

Lemmy couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was as if he was watching what happened immediately after Larry's death. Ludwig was cradling Larry's body in his arms while Roy stood over him.

"I tried to prevent it from happening!" Ludwig continued "I-"

Ludwig was suddenly interrupted by Roy grabbing him by the collar and lifting him into the air. Lemmy screamed, but it was like neither of them could hear him.

"I don't need you telling me I'm a monster!" Roy spat, "You're the one who did it! It wasn't me! You did it!"

"Quit kidding yourself and face facts, Roy!" Ludwig shouted, "You're the one who killed him! You did this and you can never take it back!"

"I didn't kill him!" Roy roared, "I didn't kill him! Now, shut up before I make you regret opening your mouth in the first place!"

Ludwig then took a swing at Roy with his claws, raking deep gashes into his face and knocking off his sunglasses. Roy hissed in pain and dropped Ludwig, who immediately ran away. After a moment, Roy dropped to his knees. He seemed to be crying.

Just then, Lemmy noticed someone else. She entered the scene without hesitation. She didn't even seem fazed by Larry's corpse. Instead, she immediately made her way to Roy, placing a hand on his shoulder. Roy jumped once this happened, scrambling to his feet and facing the young woman with a look of shocked confusion.

"It's okay," the woman began in a soft, inviting British accent, "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm here to help you."

Roy said nothing for a moment, watching the woman play with her short, blonde hair. She was wearing a sort of formal attire, but that wasn't the strangest part. Her face was covered by a smiling Shy Guy's mask and her shoulders, which should have been exposed, were either invisible or nonexistant.

"So," Roy began slowly, "Who are you?"

"My name is Marie," the woman introduced herself, "You seem to have a problem on your hands, don't you?"

Lemmy could barely catch Roy shudder as he glanced back at Larry's body.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Roy said, "It was Ludwig. He did this."

"I know," Marie cooed, "No one else is going to believe you, though. After all, you pulled a gun on your younger brother. They're all going to think you meant to shoot him."

Roy snarled, shutting his eyes tightly.

"How do I fix this?" Roy asked through bared teeth. Marie chuckled.

"How about I propose something to you?" Marie said. She then walked behind Roy, wrapping her arms around him from behind. As she was shorter than him, she had to practically pull herself up onto his back, but she managed to position her mouth directly next to Roy's ear. She then whispered something to him. In all respects, Lemmy shouldn't have been able to hear it, but, somehow, he could.

"The solution to your problem isn't all that hard," Marie began, "If no one knows you pulled a gun on Larry, you're safe."

"But Ludwig and Lemmy both know," Roy replied.

"Well," Marie continued, "You know what they say. Dead men tell no tales, isn't that right?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Roy exclaimed, lunging forward and causing Marie to let go of him, "Are you telling me to kill them?!"

Lemmy's eyes widened.

"Oh, come now," Marie prodded, "We'll take it one step at a time. Start with Ludwig. After all, you hate him, don't you? You hate the way he belittles you and steps all over you, right? It should be easy for you to kill him."

"How do you know all that?" Roy asked shakily, his brow furrowed.

"I know a lot of things, Roy," Marie said, "Just trust me."

Roy bit his lip, his gaze shifting away from Marie.

"You know who you are, Roy," Marie went on, "You know _what_ you are. This will be easy for you. Just let your worries go and everything will be fine."

Roy didn't speak.

"I'll help you," Marie said, "With my help, you'll stand on top of the world."

Suddenly, Lemmy was grabbed from behind, a hand covering his eyes and an arm wrapped around his neck.

"You can't run forever," the same British voice trilled, causing Lemmy's blood to run cold, "Roy's alive and he's on his way to Solo. I promise I won't tell him anything, but he's smarter than you give him credit for. He will find you."

"Wh-who are you?" Lemmy squeaked nervously.

"Someone who found it in their heart to tell you I exist," she replied, "I can also find it in my heart to tell you that your twin brother wasn't lying about what he heard. Question is, what does that mean for you?"

Lemmy felt his heart skip a beat.

"You're more important than you think you are, Lemmy," Marie crooned, "I can't wait to see what happens when you die."

The final word resounded in Lemmy's head, seeming to get louder and louder with each successive echo until it was so painful Lemmy couldn't stand it. He screamed.

"Lemmy!"

Lemmy's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. His throat hurt like crazy and he couldn't stop himself from trembling. Standing in front of him were Morton and Wendy, who stared at him with concerned looks. He glanced over to Iggy, who was also trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Why the heck were you screaming like that?!" Wendy scolded, "You're going to get us caught!"

"What's wrong?" Morton asked. Lemmy felt a lump forming in his throat.

"M-Morton," Lemmy stuttered, having to force out his words, "I-I want to be completely honest with you, so can you be honest with me?"

Morton's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sure," Morton replied, "What's up?"

"I was talking to Iggy-"

"You took that creep's gag off?!" Wendy exclaimed, "What were you-?!"

"Wendy!" Morton snapped. Wendy immediately froze. Morton then turned back to Lemmy, who hesitated for a bit before continuing.

"Iggy told me that he heard you saying some things. He heard you say you were going to get a weapon from Armorie and 'finish the job yourself'."

Morton tensed up, eyes widened. He was silent for a moment.

"You don't need to worry about that," Morton replied, closing his eyes, "It has nothing to do with you, I promise."

"Well, I never heard about this," Wendy butted in, "What are you planning?"

"Never mind," Morton emphasized sternly. After that, he got up and walked away, Wendy following closely behind. Soon, Lemmy and Iggy were alone again. Iggy had his head buried in his knees. It didn't look like he was crying anymore though.

"Hey, Iggy?"

Iggy slowly lifted his head, giving Lemmy a solemn look. His face was still wet with tears.

"I'm sorry."

Iggy's head tilted in confusion.

"You know what?" Lemmy said, "It's about time we had a talk."

Lemmy then made his way over to Iggy and took his gag off once again.

"Now do you believe me?" Iggy began.

"I didn't put the gag back on because I didn't believe you," Lemmy replied, "I did that because I didn't want to hear you talking about killing me."

"I told you," Iggy said, "I can bring you back."

"No you can't," Lemmy snapped, "No matter how many times you say you can, I know you can't. I've watched you try."

"I'll find it this time," Iggy continued, "I can-"

"This isn't about whether or not you can bring me back, Iggy," Lemmy interrupted sternly, "This is about you thinking you can kill me and I'll be okay with that."

Iggy froze, struck speechless.

"What am I to you?" Lemmy went on, "I genuinely want to know, because I've been getting mixed signals from what you've been saying and doing as of late."

"You're the most important person in my life, Lemmy," Iggy answered, "You're what I live for every second of every day."

"Is that why you think killing me is completely okay?"

Iggy was silent for a moment, his eyes shut tightly.

"I just don't want you to have to go through this anymore," Iggy finally replied, tears forming in his eyes once again, "I don't want you to get killed by someone who's going to mangle your body and leave it to rot. If I do it, you don't have to worry about that."

"Stop," Lemmy snapped, trembling, "Just stop. You're acting like it's a guaranteed fact I'm going to die here."

"I-I...I..."

"I want to be able to trust you, Iggy," Lemmy continued, "It's been so hard for me having to be afraid of you. I just want my brother back, but you have to trust me first. You have to have faith that I'm going to live through this."

Iggy was silent for a moment, his mouth agape and his lower lip quivering as if he was trying to find the words to say.

"I don't want to worry anymore."

Lemmy exhaled slowly.

"I know that," Lemmy answered, "and I thank you for being honest with me. You have to understand, though, that I don't want to die just as much as you don't want me to die. I'm here for a reason. If I wanted to take the easy way out, I would have done that days ago."

"You should have," Iggy mumbled.

"But I didn't," Lemmy replied, "I didn't because I have a mission. I'm going to bring back Larry and Ludwig. That's what I'm here for."

Iggy sighed, letting tears roll down his cheeks.

"I'll say it one more time," Lemmy continued, "I want to trust you, but you have to trust me back. Is that a deal?"

Iggy began quietly sobbing.

"I'm sorry," he cried, "I'm so sorry. I went overboard."

Lemmy grabbed Iggy, hugging him tightly. Iggy let out a slight gasp before bawling into Lemmy's shoulder, shouting a flood of "I'm sorry"'s.

"It's okay, Iggy," Lemmy said, also starting to cry, "I trust you."

* * *

"Hey, guys? Have you see-"

Wendy stopped short, gaping at Lemmy and Iggy, who were sitting together on the floor in the middle of the room. Lemmy froze. He'd forgotten that untying Iggy would probably cause some sort of panic, but Lemmy felt like he had to after the moment the two of them had.

"What in the heck?!" Wendy exclaimed, "Why?!"

"We had a talk!" Lemmy replied, defending Iggy, "He said he was sorry! He really meant it!"

"I didn't do anything," Iggy snapped, "We've just been talking about anime for the past...I don't know, hour and a half?"

Wendy stared at the two of them, stunned silent.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you and Morton first," Lemmy apologized, "I just-"

"Oh!" Wendy gasped, suddenly remembering something, "Right! Have you two seen Morton?"

"Morton?" Lemmy repeated confusedly, "He went out with you, right? He hasn't come back since then, if that's what you're asking."

"Crap," Wendy spat, "We got separated and I've been trying to find him. I decided to see if he came back here first."

"If he did, he didn't come down here," Lemmy replied, growing worried.

"Welp," Wendy groaned, "Looks like I'm going out again."

Wendy then left, grumbling something about her aching feet.

"It's happening," Iggy growled.

"No it's not!" Lemmy chastised his brother, "Morton already said that had nothing to do with me!"

"What if he was lying?" Iggy said, his voice lowering to an intimidating degree. Lemmy shuddered.

"Just stop," Lemmy snapped, "If he was going to kill me, he would have already done it by now."

Iggy groaned, flopping over onto the floor.

"You think Yuno Gasai could beat Roy?"

Lemmy froze for a second, startled by the conversation's sudden shift in tone. He then burst into a fit of laughter, falling over next to his brother.

"If he had Yuki in a headlock? Of course!"


	5. Spilling Blood

Morton kept a brisk pace, making his way down the maze of streets in Solo's central square. His gaze darted between shop windows on both sides of the street, intently looking for something. He knew it wouldn't be long now, so he had to prepare himself.

Just then, through his peripheral vision, he noticed a flash of pink in the dull crowd. His heart skipped a beat, but he tried to continue on as normal.

"Hey!"

Too late. Morton turned to see Roy race across the street toward him. He could feel his heart beating faster as Roy approached.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Roy said, "What's been going on?"

"Something got you in a talkative mood?" Morton asked, staying cool, "I could have sworn you weren't on our side...unless you meant it when you shoved him down last time we met."

"Circumstances have changed," Roy replied, "Speaking of _him_ , have you seen him?"

"Wasn't he in Armorie?" Morton pointed out, trying to throw Roy off, "He'd probably still be there."

"Actually," Roy said, "I encountered him on a train that departed from Floria."

"What were you doing in Floria?"

"None of your business," Roy snapped, "All you need to know is I was there. Anyway, he jumped ship before we got into Solo, so I have reason to believe he's somewhere in this city."

"Well, we've been looking all over the place here and we haven't seen him."

Roy clicked his tongue irritatedly, glancing off into the crowd that flowed around them. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them and Morton silently willed Roy to leave.

"We could look for him together," Roy proposed. Morton held back a gasp.

"I don't know," Morton started, "You're acting really fishy right now. You wouldn't tell me what you were doing in Floria, then you say that, over the course of an entire train ride from there to here, you couldn't kill him?"

Morton knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't help it. He'd always worn his emotions on his sleeve, so trying to keep them hidden was something he was having a hard time doing. Roy raised an eyebrow and Morton tensed up. Did Roy realize that too?

"You think I'm acting fishy?" Roy said, "You should be excited for the opportunity for us to team up. What happened to the two of us taking on the world?"

"That was before you betrayed all of us," Morton retorted. His tone was a little more venomous than he would have liked it to be, but his point still stood. Roy was taken aback, though.

"You're really that bitter about it?" Roy replied, obviously growing suspicious, "I thought you'd be glad I'm on your side now."

Roy's tone suggested he was beginning to catch on. Morton grit his teeth.

"You have nothing to gain from keeping me away," Roy continued, "In fact, you can only benefit from having me around...unless you're hiding something from me."

"Quit implying things," Morton replied, trying to hide his nervousness, "I didn't say anyth-"

"You're horrible at mind-games, Morton."

Morton took an involuntary step back. Multiple people stopped to stare at the two of them the second Morton's name was mentioned.

"What are you doing?!" Morton snapped, "Cut that out! Do you _want_ to get me killed?!"

"Where is he?"

"I don't know! How am I supposed to know?!"

"You have him. Where is he?"

"You're accusing me of hiding him?!"

"That was so fake."

Morton reeled. Roy was noticing hints in his tone.

"He told you, didn't he?" Roy continued.

"Told me what?"

"Everything."

Roy then pulled his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, his terrifying crimson gaze striking Morton speechless. There was something wrong, though. Around his irises were deep red rings, giving his gaze a startling resemblance to Iggy's.

"Wh-what's-"

"To answer your question from before," Roy interrupted, his tone stern, "Now that I know all the facts, I'm going to say yes."

Morton froze, not sure of what to say.

"Yes...to what?" he finally said shakily. Roy let out a chuckle that sent a chill down Morton's spine as he stuck his hand into his pocket.

"I do want to see you dead."

Morton yelped, leaping back to dodge a sudden swing from Roy, who had been carrying a switchblade in his pocket the entire time. Screams erupted from the crowds as they began to scatter and clear the streets. Morton silently cursed his luck as he made a mad dash away from Roy. Morton didn't have anything to fight back with, since this confrontation came much earlier than he expected it to.

Just then, a metallic glint caught his eye. Just down the street from him was a statue of a woman holding an enormous battle axe. The axe looked like it could be pulled from the statue's hand and was even made like an actual functioning weapon. It would likely be dull after being exposed to the elements and it was hardly the most efficient-looking weapon, but it was the only hope Morton had at that point. He pushed himself harder to increase the gap between himself and Roy as he made for the statue. Once he got there, he used all his strength to wrench the axe out of the statue's grip.

"You think that clunky-looking thing is going to save you?" Roy taunted, quickly catching up. Morton's expression grew fierce as he brandished the enormous weapon.

"Don't count me out yet," Morton spat. Roy clicked his tongue before charging at Morton. Morton retaliated quickly, swiping at Roy with an arc wide enough to send Roy stumbling backward to get away. Morton then realized he now had the advantage. Roy would have to get in close to attack, but, as long as Morton could establish his perimeter with the enormous range of the axe, there was next to nothing Roy could do.

"You think you're so clever," Roy crooned, twirling his blade in his hand, "Use a weapon with a bigger range to keep me away, huh? Don't'cha think you're underestimating me a bit?"

Morton's grip on the axe tightened and his shoulders tensed up.

"Just stop this," Morton demanded, "None of us want to play this game anymore.

"Oh, I'm more than happy to play this game," Roy retorted, an ugly smirk on his face.

"That's not what I mean," Morton snapped, "Nobody blames you for what happened. You're just making things worse on yourself. Just let him get to the end of the game and bring them back, then things can go back to how they used to be. You don't have to do this."

"Idiots," Roy growled, "I told him this and I'll tell you too: things are _never_ going back to normal. Even if I did exactly what you said, they still wouldn't. The situation's too far gone."

"It's not! We can still get through this! We can-!"

"Just shut up!"

Roy's commanding shout stopped Morton short. Through the resulting tense silence, though, Morton spotted someone watching them from the rooftops. She was a female with short, blonde hair wearing a smiling Shy Guy's mask. Morton wondered for a moment what she was doing up there before she suddenly gave him a dainty wave. She then pointed down to where Roy was.

Before Morton even had time to wonder what was going on, Roy's blade flew at him, digging directly into his shoulder. Morton hissed in pain, dropping the axe and trying to tend to his shoulder. That was when he was hit with a full-force tackle from Roy. He hit the ground hard, which knocked the breath out of him. His coughing fit had barely stopped before Roy slammed his foot onto his chest. Morton looked up to find Roy holding the axe up in the air, ready to strike. His sunglasses had fallen off during the attack, giving Morton a clear view of the ghastly rings in Roy's eyes.

"Thanks for the opening," Roy droned sarcastically. Morton's breath hitched and he began trembling.

"P-please don't do this," Morton begged, "W-we're brothers. D-don't you remember everything we did together?"

Roy sighed, shifting the axe in his hands.

"Circumstances have changed."

The last thing Morton saw was Roy swinging the axe down at him before everything went black.

* * *

Wendy groaned. Her feet were killing her, but she still had to find Morton. It was one of the few times she wished she was wearing anything but heels.

Just then, she noticed a rising panic coming from the central square. She pushed her way through the frantic crowds, who were all running in the opposite direction. Once she got past them, though, she was greeted by a horrific sight. Under the shadow of a large statue stood a blood-spattered Roy with an enormous, bloody axe in his hand. Beneath him was Morton's body. His head was separated from his shoulders and lay a short distance away, eyes glazed over in death.

Not thinking of the consequences, Wendy screamed. Roy immediately perked up at the sound, turning to face Wendy.

"There you are,"

His tone sent such a chill through Wendy that she froze in place, unable to move. His sunglasses were missing, meaning that the full intensity of his crimson gaze was upon her. Now, though, there seemed to be two bright red rings surrounding his irises. Wendy had never seen those before.

He then started toward her, dragging the axe on the ground behind him. Almost involuntarily, Wendy began stumbling backward, trying to stay as far away from Roy as possible. When he started walking faster, Wendy spun on her heel and began to run. She wasn't sure where she was going, but, at that moment, her only goal was to get Roy off her tail.

For a while, Wendy believed she had a significant lead on Roy. When she turned back to look, though, she found that Roy was was quickly gaining on her. She thought for sure that the axe would weigh him down and make him slower, but he still held onto it, carrying it as though it weighed nothing.

Panicking, Wendy darted into an old, crumbling building, hoping to lose Roy in there. She made it to the second floor and, seeing as Roy was no longer behind her, she took the opportunity to hide in an old closet, shutting the door behind her. It was dark, but it was safer than being exposed.

She slumped to the floor, trying to calm her ragged breathing. Her feet were in such pain that she could swear they were bleeding. Tears streamed from her eyes as she thought about what she'd just experienced and she was shaking like a leaf.

Just then, she heard footsteps. She held her breath, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Before she could even begin to hope, though, the door swung open and she was grabbed by her hair and raised to eye level with Roy.

"Where is he?" Roy snarled. Wendy broke down into a fit of stammering that was cut short when Roy tossed her aside, causing her to tumble down the nearby flight of stairs. She just barely had enough strength to push herself up off the ground and see Roy approaching her once more. He grabbed her by the front of her dress this time, slamming her against a cracked cement support pillar. There was a hideous groan that echoed through the entire building when he did.

"I said, where is he?"

Wendy still couldn't answer, too terrified to even speak. Roy let out a long, low growl before finally dropping Wendy.

"Useless," he spat, raising the axe. Wendy screamed, scrambling back against the pillar. Instead of slicing her apart, though, Roy swung at the pillar behind her. Both the pillar and the axe seemed to explode upon impact, raining down a shower of rubble and shards of metal. Wendy's gaze shot back toward the pillar. It was now utterly destroyed. Roy then dropped the axe, walking away from Wendy.

"Wh-what was that?"

"Spoke too late," Roy said curtly, exiting the building. Wendy then noticed the ever-increasing sound of screeching metal and crumbling stone. An expression of horror crossed her face. In her weakened state, she desperately clawed her way across the floor to try to get out in time, but she hardly made it halfway across the room before the entire building above her finally caved in.

* * *

Lemmy sat huddled against the wall. Iggy was currently upstairs while Lemmy was still in the basement. It had been four days since Morton and Wendy disappeared. The only reason he knew this was because he was able to complete another cycle in the time they were gone. He was beginning to worry. In the worst case scenario, they'd been found out by Roy. Lemmy couldn't bear to think about it, and that wasn't only because it would extend the eighteen days he had left in this world to an unthinkable forty-eight.

"Hey, Lemmy?"

Lemmy perked up and he turned to acknowledge Iggy, who was just coming down the stairs. In his hands were two small loaves of bread.

"Yeah?" Lemmy replied as Iggy sat down next to him and handed him one of the loaves. Iggy carefully fingered the loaf he still had in his hands, seeming like he didn't want to say what he was about to say.

"We're running low on food," Iggy finally said.

"We can get more...right?" Lemmy asked hesitantly, dreading the answer.

"I'm scared," Iggy replied, his fingers tightening around his bread, "I mean, I could go out there, but what if Roy's out there hunting us down? What if he finds me? What if he finds you while I'm gone?"

Lemmy huddled closer to Iggy, trying to calm him down despite also being utterly terrified.

"I don't want to die," Iggy whimpered.

"I-I...I...I don't either..."

Lemmy wanted to tell Iggy everything would be okay, but he was having trouble believing the sentiment himself. Every day, more and more of his hope disappeared. As much of a comfort as it had been to have Iggy around, even that feeling was starting to fade. Lemmy was beginning to wonder how much longer he could go on.

Suddenly, Iggy stood, beginning to walk back toward the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Lemmy asked nervously.

"Back upstairs," Iggy answered, turning back to Lemmy for just a second. His face was deathly pale and his glassy blue eyes were dull with fear. When he retreated upstairs, Lemmy could feel tears welling up in his eyes, which quickly spilled over as he began sobbing.

"I-I'm s-sorry."

He forced the phrase out inbetween sobs, then began repeating it over and over again to himself. He couldn't help but feel guilty for everything that had happened up to this point. It was because of him that this whole issue started. He was starting to think that, if he'd just died on day one, things would be much better for everyone.

He then started to think about what might have happened if he'd given up at the end of the first cycle and gone home. Ludwig might have lived, for starters, and, if Ludwig had lived, surely Morton and Wendy would have as well. What kind of state would Roy be in, though? What about that strange girl, Marie?

Marie. Lemmy had almost forgotten about her. If what he saw in his dream was accurate, it was Marie that had convinced Roy to go on this killing spree in the first place. Somehow, she'd gotten into his head. How, though? The same way she'd gotten into Lemmy's dreams? He shuddered trying to think of how she'd done that.

Just then, a sudden scream made Lemmy's blood run cold.

"Iggy!" Lemmy shrieked, vaulting to his feet. Before he could make it to the stairs, though, he saw someone else descending.

"M-Marie."

Lemmy took a step back as Marie approached him. Her presence was both commanding and condescending.

"We meet again," she crooned, stopping a few feet from Lemmy. Despite having a mask on, Lemmy knew she had to be smiling at him.

"Wh-what's going on?" Lemmy stuttered, his face growing flush. Marie giggled.

"Isn't it obvious?" she trilled, "Roy's finally found the two of you. He's taking care of Iggy first. After that, he'll be coming for you."

Lemmy froze, a scream lodging in his throat.

"Isn't it incredible?" she continued, drawing closer until she could stroke Lemmy's cheek with her hand, "I didn't even give him any hints and it only took him four days after he got into Solo to find you all."

"Wh-what do you want with us," Lemmy squeaked, barely able to speak.

"Just a little fun, is all," Marie replied, "This is the most fun I've had in years. Roy's a very creative sort and it's just a plus that I get to tear a family apart in the process."

Lemmy felt his cheeks growing hot with anger.

"Why?" Lemmy asked, "Why us?"

"Just because."

"But why do you enjoy doing things like this?"

"Just because."

"But **why?** "

"Just beca-"

"Stop!"

Marie stopped short, standing rigid. Lemmy's breath snagged.

"Well," Marie scoffed, "I was done with you anyway. Roy will be here soon, considering he's already finished with your brother."

Lemmy could feel his heart stop.

"What an imbecile he was," Marie went on, "He ran all the way to the roof in his futile escape attempt. Of course, I guess that only made his fall that much more satisfying. Roy really knows how to put on a good show, I'll give him that."

That was when something inside of Lemmy snapped. He screeched in fury as he lunged at Marie. Marie was faster, though, brandishing a kunai from seemingly nowhere before shoving Lemmy to the floor and pressing the tip of her weapon against Lemmy's throat.

"I'd advise you not to do that," Marie cooed, seeming much calmer than Lemmy thought she'd be. It was honestly intimidating.

Marie then got up, walking away from Lemmy.

"I wish you the best of luck against Roy," she called as she left, "Of course, you know who I'll be rooting for in the end, but make it interesting for me. All right?"

Lemmy trembled, shutting his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth. He then screamed, hot tears running down his cheeks. Once he finished, curled into a ball and proceeded to continue sobbing. He hardly noticed when Roy approached, standing over him menacingly. Instead of taking advantage of Lemmy's vulnerable state, though, Roy simply stood there for another couple minutes, almost as if he was allowing Lemmy to cry.

"Why?"

The single word was almost unintelligible due to the shakiness of his voice, but it was the only thing the little Koopaling could think to ask as he finally acknowledged Roy's presence. Roy didn't answer, though. He only shoved his hand into his pocket, taking out a small switchblade and opening it. Lemmy weakly stood, almost falling over again due to how unstable his footing was. Eventually, though, he got himself to stand facing Roy. Roy approached slowly, raising the switchblade to Lemmy's neck. Despite still trembling, Lemmy didn't try to fight back or flee.

"A tragic end for a tragic hero. Even I couldn't think of a more fitting ending."

Tears blurred Lemmy's vision for a moment and he choked on a breath. Roy's tone had a strange sort of reverence to it. It was almost comforting in a twisted sense of the word.

"I can't do this anymore," Lemmy sobbed, "I can't live like this anymore."

Roy said nothing. Surprisingly, though, Lemmy noticed the knife shaking in Roy's grasp. After a second, a single tear rolled down Roy's cheek. Lemmy's eyes widened in shock.

"R-Ro-"

Lemmy froze at what came next, though. Suddenly, from where that one tear had come, blood came pouring down until both eyes were dripping with the stuff. Lemmy shrieked and scrambled away. Roy's head then lolled forward, causing his sunglasses to fall off his face. Both of his irises were still the same deep crimson and the rings were still there, but, now, both sclerae had turned a chilling pitch-black. He kept a blank expression on his face the entire time, eventually turning his gaze back up toward Lemmy.

"I'm going to kill you."

Lemmy backed away from Roy, but Roy was on the approach, gripping his switchblade tightly.

"I'm going to kill you," he repeated, his voice monotone, "and there's nothing you can do about it."

Lemmy felt a sudden spike of adrenaline and a renewed will to live, both of which spurred him to sprint for the exit to his right. Halfway up the staircase, he felt the switchblade dig into his shoulder. He screamed and stumbled a bit, but still continued running. Roy was still a considerable distance behind him, which meant he threw his weapon in an attempt to stop Lemmy. The little Koopaling was hardly deterred, though, as he continued to run straight out into the streets of Solo. He knew it was dangerous, but trying to figure out another route would cost him too much time that he didn't have.

"The target! It's the target! Kill him!"

Roy's shouts immediately alerted the citizens of Solo to Lemmy's presence. Lemmy quickly figured out that the citizens of Solo didn't necessarily have all sorts of different weapons handy, but most of them had knives. The blade still sticking out of his shoulder must have inspired them too, as Lemmy immediately found himself having to dodge countless flying knives. The few he couldn't dodge embedded themselves in his body in various places. A few citizens were even daring enough to try to come after him themselves. One in particular was able to grab Lemmy and almost stabbed him in the heart before Lemmy wrenched himself from their grip. Of course, Roy was beginning to close the gap because of these attacks and Lemmy wasn't sure how much longer he could last.

Just then, he noticed a train station coming into view and a train was just leaving the station. Another burst of adrenaline allowed him to sprint faster as he desperately tried to catch up. If it weren't for that, he would have had no chance of making it. Finally, despite the train rapidly gaining speed, he was able to grab onto the very last boxcar, pulling himself inside. He gasped as the train suddenly sped through a tunnel, then, just after that, everything was quiet.

He took a second to take in what had just happened.

He actually made it out of Solo alive.

"I made it!"

He stepped farther back into the boxcar, laughing hysterically. As his adrenaline rush receded, though, it quickly sapped his strength away with it.

"I can do this..."

His injuries then got the best of him. That was when he blacked out.


	6. Alone

_Tap…_

 _Tap…_

 _Tap…_

 _Tap…_

"Problem?"

He groaned, teeth tightly grit as he slowly tapped the large, white stick of chalk against the stone wall in front of him.

"Copper or tungsten…?" he muttered just loud enough to be heard. He hated asking these kinds of questions. In truth, he hated to speak, but there were moments where any kind of input was more important to him than keeping silence.

"Whatever you think is going to conduct better," she trilled in reply, "or is that not any help to you?"

He hissed in a worn-down sort of exasperation. Of course she wasn't going to help. What made him think she would? He'd spent what he'd calculated to a month and a half in this cave in the mountains of Floria and, for some reason, she decided she'd stay with him the entire time, but she hadn't been of any help to him. It made sense, though. He knew she was only here to keep tabs on him.

Lemmy's gaze swept over the walls of his cave once more. The dark stone was covered in complex calculations and schematics written in the same white chalk he held in his hand now. It, like the food he'd been eating, were all stolen from Floria when he arrived. He was beginning to run out of supplies, though. It was discomforting, to say the least.

He clicked his tongue, deciding to leave the most pressing issues on his mind for later and move on to something else. He began to scrawl numbers on a nearby blank spot. A lot of his numbers at this point were theoretical, as he couldn't test anything to back them up, but he had to go on what he knew until he could do some proper tests when he could get home in…how many days was it again?

He glanced to his left at the part of the wall marked with a tally of how many days he'd spent in this cave. Every few marks, there was a star, indicating the end of a cycle. At present, there was only one more day until he completed his twentieth cycle. That meant he had sixteen days left here.

"Anxious to be home?"

He was startled by the sudden question, tensing up before turning to Marie. He still couldn't get over the fact that, due to her mask, it always felt like she was laughing at his situation, enjoying every moment of his misery.

"Sixteen days," he replied weakly, "Sixteen days and I'll prove you wrong."

She giggled.

"You're sure you can survive that long?" she asked, "Just look at yourself. You're a mess."

It was true. The last attack had left him in a pitiful state and living on a minimal amount of food, along with the nightmares that would usually keep him up most of the night, wasn't helping that in the slightest. If he had been able to get medical attention after the attack, it was likely he wouldn't be half as bad off as he was now, but, because of his situation, he couldn't. He'd ended up losing a lot of blood and he could no longer use his left arm. It was a miracle he was even still alive.

"I'll be fine," he replied curtly.

"Whatever you say," she said. He sighed, trying to focus once again on the calculation in front of him. After a moment of silence, though, he huffed in frustration, crossing out the entire equation. Tears formed in his eyes and he let the chalk slip from his fingers and clatter to the ground.

"I just want everything to be okay," he sobbed, collapsing to his knees, "I just want to be home with everybody again like all this never happened."

"Well, that's why you're doing all this, aren't you?" Marie crooned, "You want to make all of this disappear. Isn't that right?"

Lemmy brought his trembling right hand up to the wall again, running his fingers over the names of his siblings. He wrote them all over the place in a sort of pathetic effort to keep their memory alive.

"Why?" he asked, his breathing ragged, "Why did you do this to us?"

He heard Marie exhale, seeming to be in deep thought.

"Well," she finally said, "because I enjoy this, I suppose."

"Why?"

Marie was silent for another moment. She then sighed.

"Reality's a cruel master, Lemmy," she answered, "It wronged me. Now I'm getting reality back."

Lemmy's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter what it means," Marie said, "Just think of your pathetic little family as my punching bag…or, maybe even a stepping stone. It all really depends on how things go."

"Stepping stone to what?"

"The things any cliché villain would want, really," Marie explained, "Power, riches, revenge, the works."

"But how do we—"

"Trust me," Marie interrupted sternly, "You don't want to know what I am or why I'm here. All you need to be focused on right now is giving me a good show. After all, he's almost here."

"What?!" Lemmy cried, standing up, "B-but how?!"

"I always have my eye on Roy, you know," Marie explained, "He's searched practically everywhere by now. He figured the last place he had left to check was here."

Lemmy's blood ran cold.

"Wh-what am I gonna do?" he muttered weakly. He knew there was no way he could possibly get away from Roy in this state.

"There's not much you can do, really," Marie cooed, "It's game over."

Lemmy backed against the wall, starting to hyperventilate. Marie was right. He'd never be able to get far enough from where he was now in enough time to avoid Roy and, if Roy found him, there was no way he could fight back. He didn't even have a weapon.

Then, almost reflexively, he reached down for the chalk, snatching it off the ground and immediately going to work. He began to write, the shaky letters barely legible. As long as they were there, though, it didn't matter. After a moment, Marie walked up beside him, staring over his shoulder to read what he was writing.

"To anyone that reads this," Marie read softly, "my name is Lemmy Koopa. I was a part of this world's sick game for sixty-five days. My brother, Roy, went psycho because of the influence of someone named Marie, who wears a smiling Shy Guy's mask. Roy killed the rest of my siblings and now he's about to kill me. If you're reading this, watch out for Marie at all costs."

Marie then laughed, the ghastly sound echoing throughout the small cavern and making Lemmy sick to his stomach.

"You're a riot!" Marie cackled, "Your last moments and you write this?! What a pathetic bleeding heart you are!"

"Just stop!" Lemmy screamed, "Please!"

Marie's laughter slowly died down, though Lemmy knew it wasn't because of his pleas. She then reached into her pocket, pulling out two items. She grabbed Lemmy's good arm, placing the two items in his hand. One of them was a kunai like the one she'd pulled on Lemmy all that time ago and the other was a ring made of a polished green stone, likely jade.

"This is my gift to you," Marie said, picking back up the jade ring and sliding it onto Lemmy's ring finger, "With that, I'll be taking my leave."

Before Lemmy could say anything, Marie turned to leave, making it all the way to the cave entrance before stopping short.

"Oh," she added, "and don't worry. This certainly isn't the last you'll be seeing of me."

Lemmy grit his teeth, watching as Marie finally left. He gripped the kunai she'd given him tightly, still trembling. He didn't move for the longest time. In fact, he stayed where he was for several minutes, trying to figure out what Marie had meant by anything she'd just said and done.

It was only another few minutes before Roy finally arrived. Lemmy felt a pit open up in his stomach just looking at him. Somehow, Roy still had blood pouring down from his eyes, just like last time. This time, though, his crimson eyes, rings and all, glowed brightly, even being clearly visible through his dark sunglasses. That was how Lemmy knew that Roy was staring directly at him, his focus not wavering for a second.

"Roy..." Lemmy whispered under his breath. Roy then began toward him, knife in hand.

"Please," Lemmy began weakly, "Please, just let me talk to you for a moment."

Roy didn't stop, drawing dangerously close. Lemmy took a step back, dropping the kunai and raising his one good hand into the air.

"I don't want to fight, Roy," Lemmy said, his voice wavering as he began to cry again, "Please just listen to me for a second."

By that point, Roy was close enough to grab Lemmy, slamming him against the wall and holding him there.

"Please!" Lemmy shouted, "Look around you! I'm trying so hard to make everything all right again! Please let me live so I can do this!"

Roy ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on his target.

"I want to build a device to erase all of our memories of all this. You said things can't go back to normal, but, with this, they can. Please, just let me do this. I promise this will work."

Roy pressed the tip of his blade against Lemmy's chest, not giving any sign that he even heard Lemmy. Lemmy began to panic.

"Please don't do this!" Lemmy screamed, his entire body locking up in fear, "Please, Roy! I know you're still in there somewhere! Don't do this! I'm begging you! I can make everything oka-!"

Lemmy stopped short, lurching in pain. His vision blurred in and out, but he could at least see the knife that was now embedded in his chest, piercing straight through his heart. He could feel blood trickling from his mouth as he used the last of his strength to turn his head back up toward Roy, tears in his eyes. Roy then yanked the knife out, letting Lemmy fall to the floor.

"Wishful thinking," Roy spat. That was the last thing Lemmy heard before his body shut down and he slipped into the cold darkness of death.

* * *

The sun rose high over the mountains of Floria that morning. From the highest precipice of one lonely mountain was a stunning view of the village in the valley shining gold in the new morning light. There was the market on one side of town selling meat and produce and, on the other side, was the train station, where a train would stop every so often to pick up and drop off groups of passengers. It was the way Floria always worked and the way Floria would continue to work.

Of course, there was always the possibility that things could stop working that way; the distinct possibility that some catastrophic event could throw that calm daily cycle into utter disarray. There was even a chance that said catastrophic event could wipe it out completely. Still, though, it stood as if nothing was wrong and nothing could ever be wrong.

That was the lesson he'd been taught: life was unrelentingly cruel. At any second, peace and tranquility could be ripped from anyone's hands by something completely out of their control. It was just the way the world worked and the way it always would work.

So he contemplated all this from his perch on the precipice of this lonely mountain, his brilliant white attire shining gold in the new morning light. He pulled his hood up over his head, staring down at the mountains below. Nearby to his left was Mount Windy, its powerful winds blowing fresh snow across the nearby peaks. Farther away was Mount Stone, a nearly insurmountable summit that towered high above those around it. Then, somewhere off in the distance was the desolate Mount Percival. Part of him wanted so badly to find it again, but another part knew it was better left in the past.

As he brought his right hand down from his hood, his sleeve slid down his arm and the ring on his finger glinted in the sunlight, catching his attention. For a moment, he stared at the smooth jade, wondering what might have happened if things had been different. What would have changed if he'd made different decisions?

What if he'd gone home?

That question was always jumped to the forefront of his mind when this particular issue came up. There was never any way to tell for sure, but it killed him to think that things could have gone so much differently.

No. Killed wasn't it. He knew what that was like and that certainly wasn't it.

He sighed, letting his arms drop and once again become covered by his oversized sleeves. He then turned and started back down the mountain. After all, there were things to do. No reason to linger here and keep the rest of them waiting.

 _"Someday...everything will be okay again. I know it."_


End file.
